Sometimes Nick borrows my shoes when I'm not home. Happy New Year!

Inverness had a ton of Spanish moss. How southern gothic. Very Carson McCullers or Truman Capote.

When we first drove into Inverness, I fell in love with this peninsula cooter turtle sculpture between Cooter Lake and the Citrus County Sherriff's Office. Smart looking fellows.

I made my parents pull over so we could check out Cooter Lake. Cooter Lake! There are alligators and turtles in there!

We drove to Inverness Wednesday afternoon to find my grandparents' old home that I haven't seen since Autumn 1994. Here's the street right in front of their home on Dawson Drive.

This Florida Sandhills Crane came to visit my parents' place Wednesday morning.

December 26 was a lazy day, and I spent a good chunk of the afternoon engrossed in the new Jeffrey Eugenides novel, The Marriage Plot. I got to a point in the book where I was quite choked up by the love and humanity and loss in the novel, and I realized the room had grown dark. I looked outside and saw this. It fit perfectly.

The Christmas come down. Kevin and Steve left midday, and the afternoon was spent running around with my parents, trying to find an elusive Christmas ornament. When the hunt was over, we stopped for food in Kissimmee and saw this on the side of the road. Life is a limited run; don't forget to pump the brakes and appreciate what you got, while it's there. I love you folks, and it's not even Christmas.

Christmas Eve at Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. 

My parents' Mickey Mouse car antenna thingy is missing an ear. Last Thursday we parked next to their car's soulmate: another vehicle with a one-eared Mickey. Look closely.

This was waiting for me at the Orlando airport when I arrived on December 20.

Nicky catching some pre-holiday sun. Cute, much?

Today I wore my new socks patterned with pictures of bulldogs in Santa hats, listened to a lot of Husker Du, and hung out with Nick. Those things felt good. 

It's that time of year where it sometimes snows on dachshunds when they go outside. Nick's a good sport about it.

Walked out to my car at lunch and the sun was shining just right that it illuminated Nick's nose marks on the back window. I love those little smudges. A gentle reminder of what's good in life. 

The catch up pt. 17: Shadow puppet. Not as cute as the real thing. 

The catch up pt. 16: Oh Christmas tree. And Fozzie. 

The catch up pt. 15.5: A clown in the America's Thanksgiving Parade. 

The catch up pt. 15: Kermit at the America's Thanksgiving Parade. 

The catch up pt. 14: Thanksgiving at the MSU Detroit Center. 

The catch up pt. 13: Nick is so patient with me. 

The catch up pt. 12: Autumn in Michigan. 

The catch up pt. 11: The early morning moon over the San Francisco Bay before our flight back to Michigan. Walking Nick the morning of October 23. 

The catch up pt. 10: Leaving San Francisco. Somewhere near the Sunset. 

The catch up pt. 9: The collage outside the chapel at Jess's memorial. 

The catch up pt. 8: Two of my favorite people on one of the hardest, yet most heart warming days of my life. They followed me out to the car after Jess's memorial and we walked off to look at the duck pond and take this photo. I'll love them forever. 

The catch up pt. 7: More pics from Oyster Point Cove

The catch up pt. 6: More pics from Oyster Point Cove

The catch up pt. 5: More pics from Oyster Point Cove

The catch up pt. 4: More pics from Oyster Point Cove

The catch up pt. 3: More pics from Oyster Point Cove

The catch up pt 2: This is where we walked Nick while staying in South San Francisco last month. This picture was taken behind the Residence Inn Oyster Point on the morning of October 21. 

The catch up pt 1: Nick after his appointment with the groomer October 8. 

My folks visited this weekend, coming in Friday night and leaving midday today. As is the norm, I'm greatly missing them. Right after they left, Nick and I went for a walk around the block, enjoying the beautiful autumn weather; then sat on the porch, looking at the street where their car was parked. This household's missing them. 

Last Saturday morning, someone very special left this world. I'm still trying to sort through all of these hard new feelings and find peace. I didn't know the last time I saw her would be thee last. I wish I had more time with her on this planet, and I wish we could've returned to Provincetown together one more time, like we always talked about doing. Instead, I'm thinking about her constantly and playing her old records. Love you, Jessica. 

The sun only shines to light Nick's sweet face. 

This is what was left of the harvest moon when I took Nick for a walk this morning. This year's harvest moon yielded new records by Girls and Wild Flag. Bountiful.

It was a fairly hectic day in the office, made right when I came home to this guy. 

Nick and I watched Lassie Come Home, then discussed the apparent talents of both Pal and Elizabeth Taylor in this early film. 

I woke up this morning to the sound of pouring rain. When it calmed down a bit, I took Nick outside and discovered the street was flooded. The sun wasn't up yet, so I didn't take a picture until a couple of hours later, but imagine the water level all the way up to the sidewalk, and that's how it looked. Kinda spooky. It's since receded 100%. 

Came home to find the Comcast guy, here to fix some downed lines from the Ferndale storms. He stopped to talk to me a bit about dachshunds and how he grew up with them and how his brother recently had a brown shorthair who needed medical attention on his spleen then grew a long coat. Wild! Nicest guy. His shirt says Storm Team. I really, really want. 

Nick's not a big fan of people playing with his paws. That's why I love how he puts his paw in the palm of my hand when he sleeps in my lap. Dreamy. 

One thing that's very key to the essence of dachshunds: they're sweet, patient creatures who never complain, but they truly abhor being wet. Nick, being the sweetest creature that ever lived, was very noble when it started raining on our walk this afternoon. He posed for a picture before toweling/shaking/mad-flopping off. Bless.

 I got the new GIRLS double LP in the mail today. It's sounding mighty pretty and the two-tone vinyl and artwork are beautiful. There's even a bonus flexi-disc and poster thrown in. All of this, and the record's not even in stores for another week. It's all quite exciting. And Nick is a good boy.

The Catch Up pt. 9: My guy today, doing his Elvis. Bless. 

The Catch Up pt. 8: I can't keep my hands off this guy. 

The Catch Up pt. 7: Early morning Nick. 

The Catch Up pt. 6: Nick the Shadow. 

The Catch Up pt. 5: There's not much more heartbreaking than a lost animal handbill. Finds like this give hope. 

The Catch Up pt. 4: August stroll with my favorite dachshund.